Claire Louise Short (Lakeside Therapy) BSc(hons),DIP, BACP

About me

ABOUTME

I have over 8 yearsexperience working as a counsellor. It has been my passion from an early age to work as a counsellor, thus it became my goal to train, qualify and now practice in such a rewarding field.

I hold both a degree in Psychology and a diploma in Counselling.

I have worked with a range of difficulties supporting children, adults and couples.

I am currently working towards my masters in play therapy with children.

Although I have worked with a range of issues such as Anxiety, Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, OCD, work related difficulties and more I have a specialist interest in Trauma and Abuse.

I am a specialist in this area having a vast amount of knowledge in the different forms of abuse and domestic violence as well as the effects abuse and Trauma can have.

I am also specially trained to support victims through the specialist counselling required during a court case also known as pre-trial therapy.

I hold a teaching qualification and deliver specialist training to other counsellors and organisations to equip them to provide specialist support.

I am working towards my accreditation with the BACP whom of which inform my practice.

Over the 8 years I have been practicing I have worked in a range of voluntary organisations and private practice.

HOW I WORK

I am an integrative counsellor with a person centred basis. What this means is that throughout all the work we do I hold you at the centre of all the interventions and work we do together. With this in mind I integrate a wealth of knowledge, training and experience from a range of therapeutic schools and tailor this knowledge to meet your individual needs.

WHY COUNSELLING

My own experiences and training has shown me the benefit of talking to a qualified counsellor, but don't take my word for it...statistically 80% of people who have engaged in counselling reported feeling better afterwards.

Some people come to counselling for something quite specific but equally others come because they don't feel right and want to explore why. People often report coming to counselling as they couldn't talk to their friends and family openly about the difficulties or they didn't want to upset friends and family.

Whatever your reasons for coming to counselling it can help you work through and understand your situation, it can help you gain self-acceptance, come to a decision or look at things differently and much more.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Approaching a counsellor/counselling can be a very daunting experience. I aim to make this process a bit easier by offering everyone a free 30 minute telephone consultation (please ask for this upon contact) Sometimes hearing someone's voice or meeting the person at the end of the written blurb can put people at ease. This also creates an opportunity for us to get to know one another and see if I'm the right counsellor for you and it's OK if I'm not :).

After this if you choose to go forward with the counselling I will meet with you in a safe, comfortable environment in which I practice, as often as you like (this is usually weekly) at a time that is convenient for us both. Alternatively I offer a walk and talk session whereby we can walk around a peaceful environment of your choice or I can suggest somewhere. People often find this process less intimidating than sitting down and talking about things.

Both of these options can be combined but whatever you choose you can be confident that you will be offered warmth, kindness, acceptance and empathy alongside a range of skills to help you explore and process.

CLIENT TESTIMONIES

I have incorporated some client testimonies....

"When I met Claire I was in a state of wanting to die. I was really depressed. After I saw Claire for 3 sessions I started to see the beauty of life............" SM 2013

I came to see Claire because my relationship was at breaking point after I had been raped. Claire helped me put things into perspective and rebuild trust within my relationship, she helped me explore things from my past that also influenced this and thus made my relationship stronger and strengthening my confidence etc........" Anonymous 2014

"I started seeing Claire to gain perspective on my relationship, I expected her to tell me what to do and give me the answers so I could say my therapist told me to do this, but Claire made it clear from the start that she wouldn't do this but would help me find these answers for myself, she helped me explore aspects of the relationship both good and bad, this then helped me make the decision I needed to make.....KF 2015

Training, qualifications & experience

CPCAB Diploma in Integrative Humanistic CounsellingCertificate in Counselling StudiesCertificate in Counselling SkillsBSc (hons) Psychology with Counselling TheoryCertificate in Counselling SkillsCertificate in Counselling StudiesCPCAB Diploma in Integrative Humanistic CounsellingCertificate in Gestalt TherapyCertificate in Couples TherapyCertificate in Dissociation and SomatisationCertificate in working with DissociationCertificate in Trauma and DissociationETL3 Certificate in Training and education

As well as these I have undergone training with Samaritans, Buckinghamshire Mind and Rape Crisis which train you on a range of topics that might be experienced within such agencies some of these I have worked with are:

Suicide

Drugs

Mental health system

Childhood abuse (varying types)

Rape (varying types)

Grooming

Relationships

Identity issues

Trauma

Dissociation

Ritual abuse

Personality disorder

Bipolar

Domestic violence

Depression

OCD

GAD

Surgery

Child birth

Parenting

Other types of mental health difficulties

I have also worked with mothers of abused children.

These are a few of my experiences but why not get in touch with me by email or telephone and find out if I have experience of working with something that personally applies and if and how I might be able to help.

As well as the above I set up an independent support group and have assisted in support groups run by associates of Women's Aid.

Other areas of counselling I deal with

Ritual AbuseOrganisational AbuseChild Sexual AbuseSexual Exploitation and Trafficking Pre-trial TherapyWorking with those with Dissociative Disorder including but not limited to Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Therapies offered

Photos & videos

Fees

individuals:I offer a free initial 30 minute telephone appointment in which we can spend some time getting to know one another and discussing if counselling is suitable and if I am the right therapist to help you on this journey (please ask for this upon contact). There is no obligation to continue after this point but if you wish to do so then my fees are £40 for 50 minutes or £55 for 90 minutes. Reduced rates available please feel free to ask.Couples:Couples is £60 for assessment session lasting 90 minutes and £60 per 50 minute session thereafter.